Rain Tree (Samanea saman)

Family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)

The large and majestic Rain Tree can be seen growing by our roadsides. It provides plenty of shade with its big umbrella-shaped crown.

When it blooms, the crown of this tree is covered in clusters of pink-white flowers, like small upturned brushes. The leaves fold up before rainy weather – this is why it is called the Rain Tree.

The tree’s leaves also close just before sunset. This is why it is called the Pukul Lima in Malay, which means ‘five o’clock’. The sunset hour in Singapore and Malaysia used to be 5 pm before changes were made to Standard Time in the early 1980s.

There is a large Rain Tree in the Singapore Botanic Gardens with a girth of 5m and a height of 32m. It is classified as one of Singapore’s Heritage Trees, and strikes a truly majestic appearance.

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Flower buds of the Rain Tree	Clusters of pink-white flowers
Fruits of the Rain Tree	Rain Trees lining our roads
The bark of the Rain Tree	Leaves of the Rain Tree